British supermarkets ration iceberg lettuces - only three per visit due to short supply

Shortfall in supplies from Spain has forced supermarkets in Britain to go in for rationing of iceberg lettuces. They are allowing only three iceberg lettuces per visit because bad weather in Spain resulted in growing conditions being affected. Flooding late last year followed by unusually cold weather last month has given rise to this condition. The situation would continue till March.
The restriction has been imposed by Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury. The limited supply of lettuces follows a continuing shortage of courgettes in Britain while supplies of broccoli and aubergines have also been limited.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 4 February 2017.

Vegetable production in the EU is at 60 per cent of the normal level. This is attributed to bad weather that has taken its toll on producers right across the Mediterranean, from Greece to Spain. Exports from Spain accounts for around half of EU vegetable exports and this has dropped by around 30 per cent on an average.
It is expected that it will take two or three weeks to regain levels of production in greenhouses. This is where produce like courgettes are grown. And, it will take around six weeks for open-air production, like lettuces.


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Britain faced with shortage of spinach because of heavy rains in Spain

Supermarkets in Britain are suffering from a spinach shortage because of heavy rains in Spain which is the major supplier. The rains have washed away the crops which means the shortage could go on for up to three weeks.
Murcia in Spain supplies nearly 80 per cent of Britain's spinach during the winter months but, it has just had its heaviest rainfall in 30 years. The rainfall has left some fields reduced to just 30 per cent capacity after receiving between 150 to 250 litres of water per square metre.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 14 January 2017.

The situation has been aggravated due to the unseasonably cold weather in Greece and Italy, which also supply some stocks during this time of year. The real reason for the shortage is a series of storms in the Murcia region of Spain - it has suffered its heaviest rainfall in 30 years.
Major outlets like Tesco and Sainsbury's online stores have already run out of fresh spinach while Waitrose reported that it too had exhausted its stocks in many of its stores. Spinach is popular with those who are embarking on a January health kick.


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Careless man sets a forest on fire and 4400 firemen try to contain the blaze

A 27-year-old German lit a soiled toilet paper and started a forest fire in Spain and, more than 4,400 firefighters have been battling to contain the blaze. Almost 1,500 vehicles and 32 water-dumping planes were also deployed at 702 wildfires and, some of these fires have been burning for days.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 9 August 2016.

As per latest reports, after raging for six days, the Spanish wildfire on the Atlantic island of La Palma has, finally, been brought under control. For this, 500 residents were evacuated and a forest worker was killed. The fires had rapidly through mostly pine and eucalyptus forests that are tinder-dry due to weeks of insignificant rain. The evacuated residents are now allowed to return to their homes.
The fire claimed the life of one forest worker and has destroyed more than 4,000 hectares (9,900 acres) of forest on the volcanic island off the northwest coast of Africa. A team of some 350 firefighters, supported by four planes and eight helicopters dumping water, had to battle the fire.


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Maneka Gandhi wants President Obama to stay away from bull running festival of Spain

US President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Spain in this month and Union Minister and animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi has appealed to him to refrain from attending the "Running of the Bulls" spectacle in San Fermin festival in Pamplona.
This has been reported in thestatesman.com dated 1 July 2016.

She has written a letter to the President where she has said that the US President should take a stand against such to animals and this stand would have "considerable influence". She has requested him to skip the "barbaric" event.
In her letter she has said that the 48 bulls used in the event are struck and terrorized as they slip, fall and injure themselves or human spectators on their way to a violent death in the bullring. This has been revealed by NGO People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India.
Maneka Gandhi has also pointed out that bull-fighting is an archaic display that has lost favor among Spaniards and has been banned in many parts of Spain and other countries. PETA notes that more than 100 towns and cities across Spain, as well as the entire region of Catalonia, have already banned bullfighting events.


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Nearly 20,000 people take part in the Tomatino Festival of Colombia

Tomatino Festival is into its 10th year and nearly 20,000 people joined in the event held in Sutamarchan in located in the country's Boyaca state. This is a spring festival and the locals join the tourists from far and wide to throw spoiled fruit at one another. In the festival, over 100 tonnes of tomatoes are chucked and, thousands of T-shirts get ruined.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 6 June 2016.

Incidentally, this region has the highest yield of tomatoes and, every spring people participate in the event to throw bad and rotten tomatoes at one another. It is a three-day celebration and is centered entirely around tomatoes. For variety, many people participate in tomato-eating contests and even a race to locate the largest of the fruit.
The celebration is inspired by another festival of the same name near Valencia in Spain and it is held 75 miles northeast of Bogota. It seems in 2014 an estimated 125 tonnes of tomatoes were hurled through the streets.


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High speed Spanish trains - trials of Talgo to commence on May 28

India wants bullet trains and, while Japan is already into this and while China waits in the sidelines, Spain is trying to make an entry. Talgo, a leading Spanish firm that is into manufacturing high speed trains is right here in India. It plans to conduct trials between Bareilly and Moradabad at speeds of 115 kmph on May 28. The trials will be held over a number of days before the second phase is conducted on the Mathura-Palwal line.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 25 May 2016.

The schedule drawn up for the first phase of the speed trials envisages at least four trips in total each day, depending on availability of space between the two stations. A team of 11 Spanish engineers are working in the workshop of Indian Railways - there are modifying the Talgo coaches to make them suitable for Indian tracks in time for the trials.
The testing of the coaches will be in three phases. It will begin with the Bareilly-Moradabad section at speeds of 115kmph. The track length between the two stations is approximately 90_km. In the second phase, speeds will be of about 180 kmph and it will be held between Mathura and Palwal. The final phase will be at full speed of up to 220 kmph between New Delhi and Mumbai.
The coaches are nearly 30 years old and have been brought on rent from Renfe for speed trails in India. and speed trails of these coaches had been successful in a number of countries including Kazakhstan. The final decision on whether Tslgo wins the race will depend on the results of the trials.


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The hot spots for Britain's holidaymakers are Majorca, Ibiza and the other Balearic Islands but since these are chock full, they have to now opt for Spanish destinations. Spots in Majorca, Ibiza and the other Balearic Islands are considered to be 'safe haven' alternatives to terrorism-risk areas like Tunisia, Turkey and Egypt.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 15 May 2016.

In view of the rush, environmentalists on the island feel the hotels, roads, beaches, water and sewer system will struggle to cope with the invading hordes and, the fight for spaces on sun loungers around hotel pools and the beaches would be fiercer than ever. Mallorca is already booked out.
British package holiday companies have cancelled flights to areas of north Africa and Turkey because of terrorist threats - already tourists have been targeted in these locations by terror groups that claim to have links to ISIS. Therefore, these travel agents have laid on extra flights and hotels in the Balearic Islands, the Spanish mainland, Italy and Portugal.
The islands are also braced for a big rise in stopovers by cruise ships - it seems 524 vessels are expected in the Majorcan port Palma. Ibiza also predicts 154 cruise ships this season - this is an increase of 28 per cent on last year. The Balearics has a permanent population of 1.1 million, but it had 13 million visitors last year.
The main airport in Majorca, Palma, is already pushing its airport capacity of 66 flights a day to 100 this season. But, even though people come to enjoy life, they will be stressed because they may not get a seat in the buses – the reason is that there are not enough buses.


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As a fallout of terrorism and safety fears, people are moving away from traditional holiday destinations like Tunisia, Egypt and Turkey and are, instead, opting fur Spain. And, tour operators have warned that the summer holidays to Spain are more expensive than last year. Experts are urging people to book trips soon or face disappointment.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 26 February 2016.

The price has gone up because interest in some traditional destinations has gone down with families turning to head to 'safer' Spain rather than countries in areas of the world caught close to conflict. Statistics reveal that - searches to Tunisia have fallen 88.5 per cent, Egypt by 80.4 per cent and Turkey 54.6 per cent. This is based on data of flights, hotels and holidays. It is inferred that tourism in these countries are likely to be badly affected this summer.
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#AlHoceima #spain #earthquake It was a strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake that struck the Mediterranean between Morocco and Spain and send the people fleeing for cover. The 20-mile deep quake hit at 5.22am (local time). The location was 39 miles north of the Moroccan city of Al Hoceima and 102 miles east-southeast of Gibraltar as confirmed by the US Geological Survey said.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 25 January 2016.

There were six aftershocks including a 5.3-magnitude tremor but there were no immediate reports of any fatalities. However, emergency services received 250 calls from alarmed residents in the Andalucia region, in southern Spain and tremors and aftershocks were felt throughout the area including in the cities of Malaga, Cordoba, Seville and Granada. Nearly 200 households in the Spanish enclave on the Moroccan coast suffered damage to their properties.
It may be recalled that in February 2004, a strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake had hit near Al Hoceima and killed 631 people. This time the location is same but no report of fatalities. Incidentally, on Sunday, the US state of Alaska was hit by a magnitude-6.8 earthquake.

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Spanish bull running – three gored to death within 24 hours

Bull running is an outdoor sort that people in Spain indulge in and deaths due to being gored by bulls is a common feature. This year, three men died within 24-hurs and this brings the number of deaths this year to 7.
This has been reported in daiymail.co.uk dated 17 August 2015.

A local councilor in Traspinedo, Valladolid, bled to death after he was gored during a run in nearby Penafiel on Saturday morning. It was a tragic accident because he was cornered after he bumped into another man and lost his balance. That made the animal suddenly change track and charge the runners behind it. Another runner did manage to distract the bull by pulling its tail but the damage was already done.
Valladolid Hospital confirmed that the victim had died following an operation on a severed femoral artery and other injuries.
Another death was that of an unnamed 32-year-old from Valencia – this happened in Museros, just north of Valencia on Spain’s east coast. He was, apparently, horned in the back as he tried to reach safety through a gap in metal railings that had been erected around the area where bulls are set free as part of the town’s annual festivities.
He was caught in a bottle-neck of people trying to squeeze through the narrow gap as the bull charged - and tossed up in the air like a rag doll before being dumped on the ground.
The third incident was in the town of Blanca when a lottery seller died in hospital in Murcia 140 miles south after a bull had severed his femoral artery during a packed run.
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It was a wildfire of no mean proportions which broke out in the Sierra de Gata mountain range of Spain due to scorching temperatures – it has burned down more than 5,000 hectares of land.
As a result of the wildfire, nearly 1,400 residents of the villages of Acebo and Perales del Puerto, apart from holidaymakers from a number of mountain campsites, have been shifted to safer places in nearby towns of Caceres and Moraleja.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 8 August 2015.

Teams of 300 firefighters, backed by water-bomber aircraft, continue to battle the blaze which is being fanned by strong winds.
How the fire started is still not clear but, in the opinion of Guillermo Fernandez Vara, the head of the regional government, there are indications that it was manmade, it was arson.
As per statistics, wildfires have destroyed over 54,000 hectares of agricultural and forest land in Spain this year. This is in excess of the amount burned during all of the last two years combined. Most of these wildfires were in July, which was the hottest month of Spain on record according to national weather agency AEMET.
Incidentally, the average temperature in Spain last month was 26.5 degrees Celsius (79.7 Fahrenheit). Earlier, August 2003 had been the hottest month on record with an average temperature of 26.2 degrees Celsius.
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NATO F-16 crashes into parked planes in Spanish military airbase – 10 killed, 13 injured

#F16crash #Spain #Greece #LosLlanos #NATO The F-16 belonged to Greece and was on a NATO training exercise when it crashed into planes parked on the runway of Los Llanos base near Albacete, 160 miles south-east of Madrid, a military base in Spain.
At least 10 people have been killed in the crash and thirteen more have been injured with reports of seven of them being in a very serious condition. As per reports, the F-16 had just taken off when it lost power and smashed into an area where aircraft also involved in the exercise were parked on the tarmac.
The dead included both the pilots of the aircraft. The area has been cordoned off. It is understood that most of the victims were not Spanish, nor British.
As confirmed by a defense ministry statement, the plane was a part of the tactical leadership program (TLP) of NATO and was carrying out a (training) exercise when during the take-off the plane lost power. It crashed "into the parking area for planes, crashing into various planes that were parked there".
Incidentally, this is the second accident at the air base within the last six months. In July, the pilot of a Spanish fighter-bomber died when the aircraft exploded after taking off during Spanish-US military exercises.